`Cowboy` Shoots Down Trouble On The Midway

When the two-way radio crackles on his shoulder, midway supervisor Dale Davis maneuvers his way through the crowds to troubleshoot.

Davis, 36, spends his life on the road with United Shows of America, the company that owns the midway at the South Florida Fair.

Twelve years ago, Davis, who goes by the nickname Cowboy, was an unemployed truck driver who went to work for Ed Gregory, the president of the Nashville-based United Shows.

He traded in 24-hour days of transporting sides of beef, live cattle and canned goods for settling customer disputes and repairing carousels.

Back then, the high school graduate from Mississippi never imagined how that job offer would fill his life with 15- to 20-hour workdays and the responsibility of supervising 150 fair workers.

``Whatever needs to be done, I do it,`` Davis said. ``When a ride breaks down I get it fixed and get it running again. I don`t care about getting my hands dirty.``

When a bolt on the Thunderbolt ride needed replacing last week he spent all night putting it back together, a job that covered his handlebar mustache and clothes with grease.

Davis met his wife on the midway nine years ago. He was operating the Music Fest ride and she was working a popcorn stand that she still operates. He often brings her coffee when he passes by.

``She was good looking and I went up to the stand and starting talking to her,`` Davis said.

``I fell deeply in love with him ever since I set my eyes on him,`` Becky Davis said. ``When I`m tired he rubs my legs and when I`m sick he takes care of me. Not too many men do that.``

Davis and his wife have a trailer they drive from town to town for the 36 stops the company makes each year. The carpeted one-bedroom trailer has a color television, full kitchen and all the comforts of home. When the show takes a month off in December, the trailer stays in Nashville at the company headquarters.

Davis said that someday he would like a permanent house. And maybe even a child. But for now he is a very happy man, most happy when he is needed to troubleshoot on the midway.

``I prefer to stand when I get a lull in the action. When I sit a whole lot I get tired and bored. If you are always on the move, you know what`s going on,`` he said.

He walks the length of the midway hundreds of times each day. As a result, he traded in his cowboy boots for sneakers. His CB handle was Idaho Cowboy, which was shortened to Cowboy at the fair.

He easily blocks out the smells and sounds of the midway. He said he barely hears the blaring rock `n` roll from the thrill rides and his nostrils ignore the frying corn dogs and onion rings.

Davis does not eat much on the midway. When he does indulge in fair foods, it is most often a snack or cheese sticks or a barbecued ribs and chicken dinner.